


Not Yet!

by thatsoccercoach



Series: Which Door? [51]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Family Feels, Gotham's Writing Workshop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 17:14:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15005558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatsoccercoach/pseuds/thatsoccercoach
Summary: The Fraser family has both a productive day and a tender moment.





	Not Yet!

                                                            

That morning had been quite productive for the Fraser family. With both Jamie and Claire home at the same time, on a weekend no less, they were able to finish more work between the two of them. In the past, having Faith and Brianna home instead of at preschool while trying to get work done would have been more of a chore. Both girls, over the course of the past couple of months, had settled into the roles of little helpers. They still had moments, or days, where they would slide back into less mature behaviors or would be clingy and act helpless, but for the most part they _liked_ being called upon to help.

Faith and Claire had been out in their gardens, preparing things for the winter. They were spreading mulch around the roots of some of the more fragile plants in preparation for the harsher weather to come. They’d already raked several piles of dry leaves earlier in the morning, Claire with the large rake and Faith with her tiny one, scooting in between the smaller bushes. Claire had also trimmed back and pruned many dead branches and removed debris from some of the larger plants and the fruit trees. Faith happily trailed behind, gathering the remnants left by her mama and putting it in the wheelbarrow to be hauled away when the time came.

And now it was nearly time, Claire decided, that they go in for a cup of tea or hot cider. The chill was finally beginning to seep down into her bones and even the exertion wasn’t keeping it at bay. Summer had gone long ago, autumn was here in earnest and winter was at its edges.

“Come on, lovey,” she called, dumping her last shovel full of mulch and resting the handle against the wheelbarrow. She held her arms out to Faith. “Let’s go in and warm up for a while before we do any more, ok?”

“Ok!” She dropped her small garden tools and ran to her mama to be held.

“Oof,” Claire grunted playfully as she whisked her waif-like daughter into her arms. “You’ve grown so much as of late that you’ll soon be carrying me!”

Faith giggled and pressed her freezing hands to Claire’s cheeks and gave her a kiss on the end of her nose. “You’re so silly, Mama. I’m kind of small still. Just right for holding!” Faith’s skinny arms wrapped around Claire’s neck as she tramped back to the house.

Claire hoisted her oldest over onto one hip, freeing up her hand in order to snag the doorknob.

Warmth radiated from the kitchen and into the mudroom where they kicked off their boots and shrugged out of heavy jackets.

“Da!” Faith squealed and she skidded to a halt in the kitchen. “We finished _so_ much work, Mama and I did!”

“Is that so?” He reached out to playfully snap at her with a towel that he was folding from the overflowing laundry basket before him and she shrieked with laughter and ran back to Claire who swept her up again.

“We did,” Claire affirmed, coming up behind him, drawing close, and kissing his shoulder through his t-shirt. “But I think we’re both ready for a cup of something warm to heat us through.”

“Weel, the water’s already hot so if ye want some tea I think we can manage. Faith?” he asked. “Ye want a mug of hot apple cider?”

“Yes please, Da!” she said, squirming from Claire’s arms and planting herself to wait at her regular spot at their massive, old kitchen table. They’d found it at an estate sale around the time they’d moved to Lallybroch. Jamie had joked that the old thing could have been as old as Lallybroch itself while Claire argued it had “character.” Jamie had to admit, it worked well for their growing family.

He quickly moved to make his brown-haired lasses their morning tea. In the other room, Brianna could be heard making a general racket.

“Are they all in there?” his wife asked him.

“Aye, Bree has been entertainin’ the bairns going on twenty minutes now. Ye ought to go peek,” he said the last bit around a laugh.

“Hmm, all right then,” she smiled back at him and padded down the hall, leaving him to pour the water for tea. She stopped at the end, just in time to look around the corner and watch.

“Not yet!” Bree hollered.

“What is she up to?” Claire whispered back to her husband who approached from behind, wrapped his warm hand around her freezing one, and pulled her to him with the excuse of having a better view of Brianna and the babies…or just having her pressed up against him.

“Just watch,” his breath tickled her ear and she peeked again, pulling his arms tighter around her shoulders.

Brianna sat before them, a tower of nesting cups tottering in front of Willa and Fergus who were propped up by pillows.

“Not yet, I said!” she yelled again, prompting a chorus of uncontrolled, and highly contagious, baby giggles and wiggling limbs.

A hollow sounding clatter followed as the cups tumbled down and absolute belly-laughter began. Willa fell to the side, jostled by her own laughing, righted herself within the protection of the pillow, and began to calm down.

“Oooookay!” Bree waved her arms at her audience, yelling much too loudly once more. She smacked the cups together in a haphazard stack, building the tower once again.

Fergus was making small, happy, grunting noises and Claire had to turn to stifle a laugh in her husband’s chest.

“Lookit our tower. Looooooookit!” she demanded of her audience members. Willa began to cackle uncontrollably again, tilting against Fergus who laughed and waved his arms. “Nooooot yet,” she paused. “Now!” Bree shouted yet again as she smashed her tower to the floor prompting the “twins” uproarious laughter. 

Jamie looked on over it all. Claire’s hands were sealed over her mouth so her giggles wouldn’t disrupt the moment. Her cheeks were still rosy from the cool, fresh air and stray curls were escaping her pony tail.

Brianna, Fergus, and Willa sat together taking joy in the presence of one another while Faith sat in contented solitude in the other room.

Abruptly, Claire turned to him. “How did we get this lucky?” she asked softly, allowing the gleeful interaction in the next room to continue.

“I dinna ken, Sassenach. All that’s certain is that the love I feel for each of ye isna something I can explain. All I wish is to capture each moment to remember it forever.”


End file.
